


The Summer Before

by fictionalcandie



Series: idiot boys making terrible decisions [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-01
Updated: 2015-07-01
Packaged: 2018-04-07 05:20:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4250865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fictionalcandie/pseuds/fictionalcandie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When James’s parents try to arrange a pureblood marriage for him, he has a <em>seriously</em> good excuse to get out of it right away.</p><p>Or, the first time everything could have been avoided, if the boys weren’t such enormous idiots.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Summer Before

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to [duva](http://archiveofourown.org/users/duva) for the lightning-fast beta, and continuing to put up with my nonsense in this AU.

“Sirius.”

No response.

“ _Sirius_ ,” James hissed. “Sirius!”

Sirius’s face appeared in the mirror, with a squint and a bleary scowl. “ _What_ , James,” he said, muzzily. “‘m _sleep_.”

James paused. “Si, it’s one in the afternoon.”

“It’s _summer_ ,” Sirius said, more clearly. He rubbed his free hand over his eyes a couple times and thankfully started to look a little more than half awake. “What do you want, James?” And, getting a proper look at James’s face, saying more intently, “What’s wrong?”

“Can you come over?”

“ _Now_?” Sirius asked.

“Immediately,” James said.

Sirius sighed. James saw him shifting around, and even through the mirror he recognised the familiar motions of Sirius forcing himself out of bed.

“Let me put some clothes on.”

James let out a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding. “Just hurry.”

#

“Okay,” Sirius said, barging into James’s room without knocking, still dusting Floo powder off his t-shirt. It was the one he’d stolen from James when they’d been packing their trunks to go home, so it didn’t fit quite right, too tight across the shoulders and too loose around the chest and waist. James wanted to rip it off him, as usual, but—more urgent matters.

“So what’s so important you drag me _out_ of bed? And can there be kissing first?” Sirius was saying. “Because, I repeat, dragged out of bed, that is _not cool_ , I should get kisses for that.”

“Kisses in a minute. Si, it’s. I just.” James hesitated. He’d had time to think, in the last five minutes, how best to break the news to Sirius, and he’d decided on the gentle method. He took a deep breath.

“My parents want to make me marry your cousin, Bellatrix.”

By gentle, James meant _fast_.

Sirius froze, and stared.

“Oh, there is no bloody way,” he said, after a full minute, his voice sharp.

“Yes bloody way.”

Sirius scowled, his most fearsome _I am going to hex something_ expression. “Why the _fuck_.”

“Apparently they’re afraid I’ll run off with a Muggleborn or something else ridiculous,” James said, screwing his face up in something that might have passed for humour, except _his parents had tried to marry him off to Bellatrix_.

Sirius _boggled_ at him. “They _what_ ,” he said, eyes huge and mouth hanging open. “Why would you ever—What did you even say to that?”

“That there was no way I would. You wouldn’t let me.”

“ _Obviously_ I wouldn’t,” Sirius said, full of contempt at the very idea.

“And also I said that I’d marry a Black if they really wanted,” James went on, his heart starting to pound, because this part he’d taken a risk with. A small one, true, but still a risk. “But only if the Black I married was you.”

Sirius froze again, a different kind of stillness this time. His eyes found and held James’s. He licked his lips.

James could feel heat gathering in his cheeks, but he didn’t look away.

“Really?” Sirius asked, and it was only one word but his voice still managed to break on it. There was a familiar light in his eyes, one that James still remembered from last year when Sirius sat him down all solemn and explained that when they went to Hogsmeade the next day they should do it as a _date_ —that was the light of _hope_.

“Yeah,” James replied, softly. He’d meant to say it more loudly, all firm and confident, the way he thought it deserved to be said, but for some reason he couldn’t make it come out that way, couldn’t manage anything but that little whisper.

Sirius just stared at him, visibly blindsided. After a moment, he made an effort to pull himself together, enough to say, all unconvincing nonchalance, “And, uh. How’d that go over?”

“It’ll be a July wedding,” James said. His heart was _racing_ now, like he was taking a steep dive toward the ground for a falling quaffle during a Quidditch game. There was a moment of frozen, horrible silence. James was either going to crash in horrible, spectacular fashion, or else—

“Okay,” Sirius said, and he grinned blindingly, and tackled James down onto the bed.

James might have protested, just for show, except clearly Sirius thought it was time for those kisses _now_ , and really, James agreed.

It was like the quaffle in his hands and a clear shot at the goalposts to win the game, only _better_.

#

A few minutes later, Sirius lifted his head, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and asked, “Wait, when you say ‘July wedding’, do you mean next summer, or later this month?”

It took James a bit to find his voice. “You—you’re really asking that _now_?” he sputtered, flushed from his cheeks all down his neck to his collarbones. His hips arched up off the bed toward Sirius’s mouth.

“Well, yeah,” Sirius said. He spread out a hand low on James’s belly and held him down.

James let his head drop back against the pillows with a groan. “ _Sirius_ , c’mon.”

“James,” Sirius said, insistent. “Which one?”

“I don’t know, we can ask _later_ , just please, Si, _please_ —”

“All right, all right, yeah,” Sirius hushed, taking pity, and bent his head down and sucked James’s cock back into his mouth.


End file.
